Chandhok: 'If Mercedes beat Ferrari in 2024, what will Hamilton think?'
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
Lewis Hamilton has occupied minds for 24 hours with his switch from Mercedes to Ferrari. The main question remains unanswered: 'What is the exact reason for his departure from the German team, to which he has been linked since 2013?' The most obvious explanation is that Hamilton expects a greater chance of winning the world title with Ferrari. In the background, there could be another aspect at play.
The departure of Loic Serra at Mercedes is also said to have played a role in Hamilton's decision. The Frenchman was Performance Director at Mercedes but recently decided to move to Ferrari. There, he will become Head of Vehicle Performance. Serra was said to be against Mercedes' so-called zero sidepods concept during his time at the German team. With hindsight, that did not prove successful. According to several media reports, Hamilton has great faith in Serra partly on this basis.
Could Hamilton have regrets?
Meanwhile, Mike Elliott, the man behind the zero sidepod concept, has left, and James Allison is in charge of engineering. "For me, it gets really interesting," says former F1 driver and current analyst Karun Chandhok on Sky Sports. "If this James Allison influence has come in and they have a good 2024 and they comprehensively beat Ferrari, what's going on in Lewis' head then? Because has he made the wrong call?"
This is not the first time Hamilton has made a remarkable transfer. He came from McLaren to Mercedes, much to the surprise of analysts and fans. After all, Mercedes was a mid-tier team, while Hamilton had already become world champion at McLaren. But Mercedes managed to convince the Brit that the project they were working on would be very successful.
"He pulled a blinder in 2012 to leave McLaren and come to Mercedes at the right time. It's a brave move, and it's great for all of us. It's great for box office and I'm glad he's done it. I'm excited to see how it plays out,' Chandhok said.